“Ironforge won the coin toss and elected to receive. Their blocks started out lukewarm (a problem for the team intermittently throughout the game) but managed to do well enough to open up a path to the endzone for their runner by turn three. We couldn't blitz the ball carrier so we did what we could and blitzed the runner guarding him and put a pair of tacklezones on the ball carrier. It paid off as the runner failed his dodge and we grabbed the ball. A failed block by Ironforge's other runner left the original ball carrier open to a crowd push and the poor little guy ended up badly hurt. The Grudgbearers then had a chance to score but a failed dodge by Begnar Orcchaser ended up KOing him and we had to settle for having prevented Ironforge from scoring in the first half.

The second half started out looking bad. A pitch invasion stunned three Grudgebearer players (we like the new PI rules) but a deep kick prevented a complete disaster (it did make me start contemplating the word "overtime", however) and a quick pass by Begnar to Mogan Quicksilver got things back in control (a KO of one of Ironforge's linemen helped as well....) A nice play by Ironforge saw the ball knocked away from our carrier and into the hands of an Ironforge Troll Slayer but the fact that he was surrounded by Grudgebearer guards limited what he could do with it. We quickly recovered the ball and set off for the endzone again. One of Ironforge's blitzers dodged away from his minder (who every heard of an AG4 dorf anyway?!?) and put a tackle zone on the Grudgebearer runner carrying the ball but also blocked his own runner's path to the ball. When the runner BH himself trying to at least get next to our runner things were pretty well sewn up and we stalled a round before scoring (managing to SI a Troll Slayer in the process). A perfect defense and a blitzer failing to pick up the ball ended whatever chance Ironforge might have had of tying things up and the Grudgebearer's won their first official game of the second season 1-0.

What our opponents have, largely, been unable to do time appears to be and the Grudgebearers picked up their second aging niggle in as many games, this time on veteran lineman Valir Earthsoul (the first being on star runner Begnar Quicksilver). Coach Grue decided to hold onto both players for now but recruited rookie lineman Neran Axebearer to fill out the ranks and make sure we have a full team if the unthinkable happens and we run out of liniment.

Bring on the 'Zons!”